Book Club Archives - Life with Dee

LWD Book Club ~ May 2018

May 1, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 8 Comments

Can it truly be May already? I just noticed I still have Santa mugs on a display shelf in my kitchen. Please tell me I’m not the only one who *thinks* I have all the holiday decorations put away, only to find a few stragglers weeks (months?) later. But yes, according to the calendar page I just turned over this morning, it is May. And that means it’s time for the May edition of the LWD Book Club. Let’s see what’s up for this month!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

LWD APRIL BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Death at the Chateau Bremont by M. L. Longworth

I listened to a podcast the other day with the author of this book. She has a brand new book out but I want to start with the first in the series.

The first installment in the beloved, sumptuous mystery series set in Provence, featuring chief magistrate Antoine Verlaque and his old flame Marine Bonnet, who must team up to solve a pair of murders

When local nobleman Étienne de Bremont falls to his death from the family château, it sets the historic town of Aix-en-Provence abuzz with rumors. Antoine Verlaque, the charming chief magistrate of Aix, suspects foul play, and when he discovers that Bremont had been a close friend of Marine Bonnet, his on-again off-again girlfriend, Verlaque must turn to her for help.

The once idyllic town suddenly seems filled with people who scould have benefited from Bremont’s death—including his playboy brother François, who’s heavily in debt and mixed up with some unsavory characters. But just as Verlaque and Bonnet are narrowing down their list of suspects, another death occurs. And this time, there can be no doubt—it’s murder.

A lively mystery steeped in the enticing atmosphere of the south of France and seasoned with romance as rich as the French cuisine that inspires it, this first installment in the acclaimed Verlaque & Bonnet Provençal Mystery series is as addictive and captivating as Provence itself.

If you’d like to check out the podcast here is the link:

203: M.L. Longworth’s New Provençal Mystery and Life in Provence

The Fringe Hours: Making Time For You by Jessica N. Turner

Every woman has had this experience: you get to the end of the day and realize you did nothing for you. And if you go days, weeks, or even months in this cycle, you begin to feel like you have lost a bit of yourself.

While life is busy with a litany of must-dos–work, parenting, keeping house, grocery shopping, laundry and on and on–women do not have to push their own needs aside. Yet this is often what happens. There’s just no time, right? Wrong.

In this practical and liberating book, Jessica Turner empowers women to take back pockets of time they already have in their day in order to practice self-care and do the things they love. Turner uses her own experiences and those of women across the country to teach readers how to balance their many responsibilities while still taking time to invest in themselves. She also addresses barriers to this lifestyle, such as comparison and guilt, and demonstrates how eliminating these feelings and making changes to one’s schedule will make the reader a better wife, mother, and friend.

Perfect for any woman who is doing everything for everyone–except herself–The Fringe Hours is ideal for both individuals and small group use.

Home Sweet Maison: The French Art of Making a Home by Danielle Postel-Vinay

French Women Don’t Get Fat meets The Little Book of Hygge in this lively, sophisticated, and practical illustrated lifestyle guide that shows how to enjoy la belle vie—to live like the French every day—transforming your house into a home defined by beauty, family, and accessible elegance.

How do the French create the elusive and alluring sanctuaries they call home? This question long intrigued Danielle Postel-Vinay. Thanks to a chance encounter with a French expat in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and years of immersive research, she embarked on a quest to discover the secrets of the French home aesthetic.

Experiencing first-hand la belle vie—the beautiful life—Postel-Vinay now shows everyone how to create their own French sanctuary, a home sweet maison, no matter where they live. Providing more than just interior decorating and design tips, Postel-Vinay teaches you how to foster the warmth, beauty, and rituals inherent in the French home and create an environment better suited to living a rich, full, connected life. At the center of the book is the idea that your house should be a reflection of you, your hobbies, your family history, your rituals, all the things that make your life unique. A happy home is a home that expresses your rituals and your taste, not one that relies on prefab décor from a mass retailer.

Home Sweet Maison takes a room-by-room approach to show how the French view:

The Aesthetic: why the objects in your home matter, why minimalism is overrated, and why the French always choose the perfect décor for their salons

The Practical: how to use mise-en-place, or the French art of organization, in your kitchen, and how to find the right stain-removing potions to create your own French laundry

The Sensual: the way the French employ scent in their home as a personal signature

The Philosophical: the idea that every room in a French house has a specific purpose, and that the activity in one room should never bleed into the others

Home Sweet Maison encapsulates the very heart of the French way of seeing the world: set the table formally, adhere to all the conventions of ritual and tradition, then take pleasure in indulgence. It’s about using French concepts and routines to change our homes, our relationships, and our lives for the better.

What’s better than curling up with a good book and a delicious cup of tea? And when the tea is named “Reading Nook“? Perfection.

Plum Deluxe “Reading Nook” tea blend

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ April 2018

April 1, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 3 Comments

Happy Easter and welcome to the LWD Book Club selections for April! I’m really looking forward to reading this month’s books and hope you will enjoy them, too.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

LWD APRIL BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Summer With the Country Vet

When Lucy Jacobs is made redundant from her inner-city teaching job she fears her career is over. Teaching is all Lucy knows and she’s determined to get back in the classroom as fast as she can.

Except the only job on offer is at an idyllic village school in the middle of nowhere – Lucy’s idea of hell. Where are the disadvantaged kids who need saving, where is the challenge?

But as Lucy finds herself welcomed into the warm-hearted community of Langtry Meadows, she begins to realise new challenges await – like frogs in the classroom, a rather difficult donkey, and a very brooding local vet…

Local boy Charlie Davenport has his own issues about living in the close-knit village of Langtry Meadows. His private life is already fuel for the well-meaning gossips and the very last thing he needs is to get close to the new school teacher…no matter how lovely she is.

But as summer days drift away Langtry Meadows weaves its magic, Charlie and Lucy both get the chance to turn over a new leaf and start anew…maybe with each other?

A fun, romantic story to make you smile and long for your own country escape.

A Piece of the World

To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family’s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the twentieth century.

As she did in her beloved smash bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little-known part of America’s history. Bringing into focus the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, she vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists.

Told in evocative and lucid prose, A Piece of the World is a story about the burdens and blessings of family history, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.

Playing House in Provence

Author Mary-Lou Weisman and her husband, Larry, didn’t want to tour a foreign country; they wanted to become part of it. They were eager to pierce the tourist veil, and get as close to the essence of the culture as they could. No more observing from the outside with their noses pressed to the glass. They yearned for someone to open the door and invite them to step right in and make themselves at home. They wanted to become so French that even Americans wouldn’t like them.

In September of 2003, the Weismans arrived in Provence, France, for the first of four, monthlong stays. Playing House in Provence follows them on their sometimes wonderful, sometimes humiliating, always playful pursuit, as they learn that feeling disoriented and stupid on a daily basis can be fun. So can looking up French words they need to ask for directions—où est la pharmacie—only to realize there’s pas une chance they will understand the answer.

Watch for my review of Melissa Michaels’ new book, Simple Organizing: 50 Ways to Clear the Clutter. It is available for pre-order now and will be released April 3rd.

What’s better than curling up with a good book and a delicious cup of tea? And when the tea is named “Reading Nook“? Perfection.

Plum Deluxe “Reading Nook” tea blend

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ March 2018

March 1, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 6 Comments

The LWD Book Club selections for March include fiction, memoir and self-help/how to. Something for everyone! Let’s see what we’ll be reading for the month of March:

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

LWD MARCH BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line

In this urgent and unique book, chef Michael Gibney uses twenty-four hours to animate the intricate camaraderie and culinary choreography in an upscale New York restaurant kitchen. Here readers will find all the details, in rapid-fire succession, of what it takes to deliver an exceptional plate of food—the journey to excellence by way of exhaustion.

Several years ago I read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain and absolutely loved it. I’m looking forward to another behind-the-scenes look at a restaurant kitchen.

Letters From Skye

A sweeping story told in letters, spanning two continents and two world wars, Jessica Brockmole’s atmospheric debut novel captures the indelible ways that people fall in love, and celebrates the power of the written word to stir the heart.

In my post The Gift of a Letter, I shared links to several epistolary novels. I love these and am eager to read this one.

Decluttering at the Speed of Life

While the world seems to be in love with the idea of tiny houses and minimalism, many of us simply can’t purge it all and start from nothing. Yet a home with too much stuff is a home that is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin?

In my efforts to simplify my life this year, I’m decluttering and organizing my home. I love the “A Slob Comes Clean” podcast and was delighted to hear that she has a new book out. My copy arrived yesterday and I’ve already taken a peek.

Let me know if you plan to read any of these or if not, what you ARE reading this month.

What’s better than curling up with a good book and a delicious cup of tea? And when the tea is named “Reading Nook“? Perfection.

Plum Deluxe “Reading Nook” tea blend

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ February 2018

February 1, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

I am really excited about this month’s LWD Book Club selections. As both a Francophile and an Anglophile, these three books scratch that itch. Let’s see what’s up for February.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

LWD FEBRUARY BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

A Small House in France: How an English couple turned a neglected French cottage, an acre of land and a walnut orchard into a holiday retreat

The little cottage stood out against a bleak skyline, forlorn, empty, neglected and overgrown. After a three-year search, could it be just what a retired English couple were looking for as a holiday home of their own? A magical holiday to rural France some years before had sowed the seeds of a daring plan for Brenda and Ray Barrington – to spend the early years of their retirement buying and restoring a cottage in the French countryside for use as a maison secondaire. Their budget and time were limited, but their enthusiasm and determination were boundless. The couple soon found themselves deeply engrossed in their dream project and discovering the full ramifications of owning a rural property deep in the land of wine and haute cuisine.

This is right up my alley! I dream of doing something like this. All we need to do is win the lottery.

Diary of a Provincial Lady

E. M. Delafield’s largely autobiographical novel is written as the journal of an upper-middle class lady living in a Devonshire village. Full of the peculiarities of daily life, the Provincial Lady attempts to avoid disaster and prevent chaos from descending upon her household, including a husband reluctant to do anything but doze behind The Times, mischievous children and trying servants, all the while keeping up appearances to society-at-large, and most particularly to the patronising Lady Boxe, with whom the Provincial Lady is eternally competing.

I was looking for a novel set in wartime England and ran across “The Provincial Lady in Wartime”. I do plan to read that one but decided to start at the beginning of the series.

Parisian Charm School

From savoring the everyday beauty around you to engaging in captivating conversations, playing dress-up, hosting impromptu dinner parties under the stars, and of course mastering the art of French flirting, the lively and inspiring lessons in this “syllabus” will help you rediscover your beautiful, fierce, romantic, engaging best self—to attract the best of everything into your life.

I’ve been hearing a lot about this new book and decided to give it a go.

I hope you’ll join me in one or more of these books but in any case, I’d love to hear what you’re reading these days. And if you have any suggestions for future LWD Book Club selections, please let me know!

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ January 2018

January 1, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

Not only is it the beginning of a new month…it’s the beginning of a new year! My word for 2018 is “simplicity” and you’ll likely see that theme reflected in a number of this year’s book club selections. Two of the three books this month relate to the concept of simple living. I hope you enjoy them!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

LWD January Book Club Selections

Walden – Henry David Thoreau

At Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau reflected on simpler living in the natural world. By removing himself from the distractions of materialism, Thoreau hoped to not only improve his spiritual life but also gain a better understanding of society through solitary introspection.

I’ve read this several times but it’s been many years since the last reading. I think it’s time to revisit Walden Pond.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately…”

“Walden” is available free on Kindle and your public library is sure to have it. Years ago I found a lovely, vintage, hardcover edition at our local used book store for just a few dollars.

Sweetie by Kathryn Magendie

For shy, stuttering Melissa, the wild mountain girl named Sweetie is a symbol of pride and strength. But to many in their Appalachian town Sweetie is an outcast, a sinister influence, or worse. This poignant and haunting story takes readers deep inside the bittersweet heart of childhood loyalties.

For this month’s fiction selection I browsed through my Kindle library. I have LOTS of books on there which I have yet to read. Since January is my annual “no buy” month, it only made sense to choose something I already own.

The Simple Home by Rhonda Hetzel

Award-winning blogger Rhonda Hetzel shares the day-to-day practicalities of a simple life and shows you how to rediscover the heart of your home. With a year of monthly projects that make household management easier, Rhonda encourages you to set up good systems, make what you need, and appreciate what you have. Learn how to stretch money further, safely clean your home, and cook from scratch with 40 favorite recipes, including step-by-step guides to baking bread and making cheese. Whether you’re part of a family, living alone, or thinking about retirement, this is an inspiring, indispensable guide to slowing down, taking stock of your life, and finding pleasure and satisfaction at home.

I read this author’s short book, The Simple Life, earlier this year. It was only 41 pages and when I finished, I wanted more. The Simple Home came out in November and has a five-star rating on Amazon. I can’t wait to start this one!

I hope you’ll join me in one or more of these books but in any case, I’d love to hear what you’re reading these days. And if you have any suggestions for future LWD Book Club selections, please let me know!

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ December 2017

December 1, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 5 Comments

December already? How did that happen? Not only is it time to really get the holiday season in full gear, it’s also time for the final LWD book club selections of the year. This is a busy time of year but it’s still important to set aside time for self-care. One of my favorite self-care activities is reading. Even twenty minutes with a good book can refresh my spirits. Let’s take a look at the LWD December book club selections.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

LWD DECEMBER BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon

Many years ago, back when I was a hospice nurse and on the road quite a bit each day, I became a fan of audiobooks. Listening to a good book helped pass the time in the car. That is when I first discovered the Mitford series books by Jan Karon. I immediately was taken with the quirky characters and the charming mountain village of Mitford.

I have read the original Mitford series books but somehow never read “Shepherds Abiding”. I think this is the perfect time to do so. Also, I ended up with two copies so I plan to do a book giveaway here on the blog soon!

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Before we know it, a new year will be upon us. January is always a good time to take a look at our habits and make some adjustments. I did a bit of research on habit books and selected “The Power of Habit” to read this month. If you have a favorite book about developing habits, please leave me a comment. I plan to read at least a couple of books on this topic.

Belize: A Novel by Carlos Ledson Miller

Our final selection is a self-published book set in Belize. Before our recent trip, I decided to look for a book set in Belize to read while visiting the country. This one had very good reviews so I downloaded it to my Kindle. There are a handful of editing errors but not enough to seriously detract from the story which is quite good. I’ve always enjoyed learning about new places through novels and if you want to know a bit about Belize I think you’ll enjoy this one as much as I did.

As always, I would love to have you join me in reading one or more of these selections if they are of interest. But in any case, I’m always interested in hearing what YOU are reading. Leave me a comment!

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ November 2017

November 1, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 4 Comments

It’s a new month and that means it’s time for the November book club choices. Two of these selections are books I picked up at the annual book sale at our local public library. One of these was a hardcover copy of a beloved book I already had in quality paperback. Guess what that means? I’m going to be doing a book giveaway here on the blog soon! I have a stack of books I’ve been collecting for that purpose. Several are LWD book club selections so if you’ve been wanting to read some of those but didn’t want to purchase them, this might be your chance. I’ll tell you more about this giveaway soon.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

LWD NOVEMBER BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Creating a Beautiful Home by Alexandra Stoddard

This is the book I mentioned above that I was able to purchase in hardcover at the library book sale. It was one of two Alexandra Stoddard books they had and I bought them both. That means I’ll be giving away my gently read, quality paperback copies in my book giveaway.

Tapping her wealth of professional secrets, the McCall’s columnist offers a practical guide to creating a beautiful home that combines inventive and imaginative design solutions to fit every pocketbook and lifestyle.

The Borrower: A Novel by Rebecca Makkai

This is the other book selection this month that I purchased at the library book sale. It sounds really intriguing and I’m looking forward to reading it.

Lucy Hull, a children’s librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, ten-year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. Ian needs Lucy’s help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly antigay classes. Desperate to save him from the Drakes, Lucy allows herself to be hijacked by Ian when she finds him camped out in the library after hours, and the odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip. But is it just Ian who is running away? And should Lucy be trying to save a boy from his own parents?

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not the French by Jean-Benoit Nadeau

This month’s final selection is one I’ve had on my Kindle for awhile. As you know, I’m a Francophile so this this sounds like something right up my alley. However, I must say that after our trip to Paris in 2014 I would disagree with the common perception that the French are rude. We found everyone to be polite and easy to deal with.

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong is a journey into the French heart, mind and soul. Decrypting French ideas about land, privacy and language, Nadeau and Barlow weave together the threads of French society–from centralization and the Napoleonic Code to elite education and even street protests–giving us, for the first time, a complete picture of the French.

Will you be joining me in reading any of these this month? If not, what are you reading instead? I always love to hear book recommendations so please leave me a comment!

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ October 2017

October 1, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 3 Comments

I’m not sure when I’ve ever been so happy to see the start of a new month. September was filled with great sadness as we mourn the deaths of three who died too young. Today dawned bright and sunny here in our neck of the woods and I’m taking that as a good omen that October will treat us all more gently.

Let’s take a look at the October selections for the Life With Dee book club:

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

LWD October Book Club Selections

The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin

In this groundbreaking analysis of personality type, bestselling author of Better Than Before andThe Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin reveals the one simple question that will transform what you do at home, at work, and in life.

As I’ve shared before, The Productive Woman is one of my favorite podcasts. She has a lovely Facebook community and they have also chosen this book for their book club.

Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture by Shannon Hayes

Radical Homemakers nationwide speak about empowerment, transformation, happiness, and casting aside the pressures of a consumer culture to live in a world where money loses its power to relationships, independent thought, and creativity. If you ever considered quitting a job to plant tomatoes, read to a child, pursue creative work, can green beans and heal the planet, this is your book.

Celia’s House by D.E. Stevenson

Celia Dunne may be an old spinster, but she’s no fool. She knows that changing her will to leave the grand family estate, Dunnian, to her grand-nephew will ruffle feathers within the family. But Celia also knows that Dunnian has stood solemn and empty for far too long, and she intends for that to change after she’s gone. Humphrey’s children will turn the creaky old house back into a family home-just the way it was meant to be.

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ September 2017

September 1, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 1 Comment

We got back to town after our trip to Houston this afternoon around 3 p.m. But before heading home we made a quick stop at Sears.

Our dryer had died around 11 p.m. the night before we left but the good news is I happened to still be downstairs and smelled it before it caught fire. The other good news is that Sears is having a really good Labor Day weekend sale so we got a terrific deal on a new dryer. David installed it right away…I think I’ll keep him!

I’ll share more about our Houston trip later but for now let’s go ahead and take a look at the LWD Book Club September selections.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

LWD SEPTEMBER BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South by John T. Edge

Over the last three generations, wrenching changes have transformed the South. The Potlikker Papers tells the story of that dynamism—and reveals how Southern food has become a shared culinary language for the nation.

The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky

The House of Twenty Thousand Books is the story of Chimen Abramsky, an extraordinary polymath and bibliophile who amassed a vast collection of socialist literature and Jewish history. For more than fifty years Chimen and his wife, Miriam, hosted epic gatherings in their house of books that brought together many of the age’s greatest thinkers.

The Perfume Collector: A Novel by Kathleen Tessaro

The Perfume Collector explores the complex and obsessive love between muse and artist, and the tremendous power of memory and scent.

I apologize for the lack of commentary on my selections. It’s after 9 p.m., I haven’t unpacked from our Houston trip and we leave in the morning for a three-day trip to Oklahoma City to (finally) celebrate my birthday. But at least I got this posted on the first of the month so I’m calling this a win.

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

LWD Book Club ~ August 2017

August 1, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 6 Comments

Here it is – the first of August already. Do you know what that means? It’s my birthday month! And it’s also time for the LWD Book Club August selections. Our theme for August includes back-to-school, routines and planners. Even if you don’t have a child headed back to school soon, for most of us, this time of year will forever feel like a new start. I’ve always liked the fact that my birthday falls this time of year. It’s a good time for me to re-evaluate my goals, and fine-tune or tweak my routines. It functions as a bit of a reset with a bit less pressure than the first of a whole new year.

Let’s take a look at the books I’ve chosen for August:

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

LWD AUGUST BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

I’ve been hearing so much about the concept of “the Miracle Morning”. I’ve even joined Miracle Morning Facebook community, although I must admit I’ve not interacted much yet. I’ve read some things about the Miracle Morning online but haven’t yet read the book. I think this is the perfect time to do so.

What if you could miraculously wake up tomorrow and any—or every area of your life was transformed? What would be different? Would you be happier? Healthier? More successful? In better shape? Would you have more energy? Less Stress? More Money? Better relationships? Which of your problems would be solved?

What if I told you that there is a “not-so-obvious” secret that is guaranteed to transform any—or literally every area of your life, faster than you ever thought possible? What if I told you it would only take 6 minutes a day?

Enter The Miracle Morning. What’s now being practiced by thousands of people around the world could perhaps be the simplest approach to creating the life you’ve always wanted. It’s been right there in front of us, but this book has finally brought it to life.

South and West: From a Notebook by Joan Didion

Last week I took a couple of days “off” and went to the city. I visited the OKC Museum of Art, bought a new purse, got to hold my cousins’ new baby, took a friend to dinner, saw a movie and checked out a bookstore my son had been raving about. What a lovely, lovely place. I could have spent all day and a small fortune there. I limited myself to three books, however, two of which I’m including in this month’s selections.

This first one is a small book but from what I’ve read so far I believe it will be rather intriguing. As an aspiring writer myself, I love the idea of keeping a notebook filled with bits and pieces from which to draw later. I have little snippets jotted down here and there but nothing so cohesive as a single notebook. Perhaps this will inspire me to do likewise. In fact, I bought myself a lovely journal at the museum bookstore which I believe will be perfect for this.

I was also interested because of the settings: California (where I was born and grew up) and the Deep South, starting in New Orleans (my favorite place).

Joan Didion has always kept notebooks: of overheard dialogue, observations, interviews, drafts of essays and articles–and here is one such draft that traces a road trip she took with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, in June 1970, through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. She interviews prominent local figures, describes motels, diners, a deserted reptile farm, a visit with Walker Percy, a ladies’ brunch at the Mississippi Broadcasters’ Convention. She writes about the stifling heat, the almost viscous pace of life, the sulfurous light, and the preoccupation with race, class, and heritage she finds in the small towns they pass through. And from a different notebook: the “California Notes” that began as an assignment from Rolling Stone on the Patty Hearst trial of 1976. Though Didion never wrote the piece, watching the trial and being in San Francisco triggered thoughts about the city, its social hierarchy, the Hearsts, and her own upbringing in Sacramento. Here, too, is the beginning of her thinking about the West, its landscape, the western women who were heroic for her, and her own lineage, all of which would appear later in her acclaimed 2003 book, Where I Was From.

When the English Fall: A Novel by David Williams

This book caught my eye as soon as I entered Commonplace Books. I’ve long been fascinated with the lifestyle of the Amish. Having also lived through the worrisome time period before Y2K when many feared a major collapse of the grid, this sounds like something right up my alley.

A riveting and unexpected novel that questions whether a peaceful and nonviolent community can survive when civilization falls apart.

When a catastrophic solar storm brings about the collapse of modern civilization, an Amish community in Pennsylvania is caught up in the devastating aftermath. Once-bright skies are now dark. Planes have plummeted to the ground. The systems of modern life have crumbled. With their stocked larders and stores of supplies, the Amish are unaffected at first. But as the English (the Amish name for all non-Amish people) become more and more desperate, they begin to invade Amish farms, taking whatever they want and unleashing unthinkable violence on the peaceable community.

Seen through the diary of an Amish farmer named Jacob as he tries to protect his family and his way of life, When the English Fall examines the idea of peace in the face of deadly chaos: Should members of a nonviolent society defy their beliefs and take up arms to defend themselves? And if they don’t, can they survive?

FACEBOOK BOOK CLUB EVENT

If you are on Facebook check out the LWD August Book Club “event”. We’ll be reading and discussing these books together. Check it out:

LWD BOOK CLUB ~ August 2017